A Matter of Time
by superwholockianwriter
Summary: When the Time War begins, the Doctor and his wife are scared for their two children's lives. They travel to Earth where the leave their children at two different homes. The Winchesters and the Holmes.
1. Prologue

Prologue - Sherlock's POV

I don't remember much about my father. What I do know about him comes through legends and stories I have heard. Sometimes I get jealous when I hear people talking about him and how close they were to him. Why had he never done that with me? But I have a good life and it does no good to dwell on the past. But for this brief time, I will and maybe you will find my story interesting. My story begins many galaxies away on a beautiful planet with a beautiful name. _Gallifrey._

When I was born, I think my parents loved me. At least that's what I tell myself on the lonely nights. For the first six years of my life, everything was perfect. I had a great family, great friends, and a great life. Everything changed with the birth of my brother. At the time we didn't know it, but we soon would. For the next six months, we lived in peace and happiness. We knew that the war was coming but we didn't think it would come so soon. Exactly six months after my brother was born, the Daleks invaded.

When I look back, I understand why my parents did what they did. But at the time, I was terrified. All I knew was that we were being shot at and I wanted it to stop. My parents loaded my brother and me into a stolen TARDIS and we ran away. I guess that's why I run away from my problems so much. My parents were the experts. Away we traveled, away from the war, away from everything I had ever known.

I tried to ask my parents what was happening but they told me that everything would be okay. I just had to trust them. And I did. Maybe it was a mistake but there's no changing it now. Soon, we materialized and we stepped out of the TARDIS. The landscape was unlike any I had ever seen before. Cars rushed past us and people bustled down the street. Instantly, I knew where I was. Earth. I had heard tales of it, but I never imagined I would visit it.

"Lawrence, Kansas, 1982," Father announced. "Come along, son. We have business to attend to."

After walking for a few minutes, we arrived at a large white house. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

"Why are we here, Daddy?" I asked.

"You must be brave" was all he said.

We walked to the door and Father knocked. A dark man opened the door, a long gun in his hand. When he saw who his visitors were, he lowered it. "Ah, Doctor. Come in."

We entered the house and I discovered that two more people occupied it: a beautiful lady with long blonde hair and a small boy, a couple years younger than me.

"John, Mary, we are in danger. We need your help."

"What can we do?"  
With tears in her eyes, Mother handed my brother to the beautiful lady.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"It is no longer safe for our children on Gallifrey. If you are willing, we would like you to raise our son as your own."

"You know what kind of life we lead," John said. "Are you sure?"  
"Yes. He would most likely die if he stayed on Gallifrey. We hate to ask you-"

"We'll do it," Mary said. "It's the least we can do for you after how much you have helped us."

"Thank you," Father said. "Before we leave, what will you call him?"

"Sam," Mary said. "Sam Winchester."

"That's a beautiful name," Father said. "We owe you our forever gratitude."

Mother kissed my brother and we left the white house, without my brother. I couldn't understand why he wasn't coming with us. I tried to ask my parents about it as we reentered the TARDIS but they told me to be a good boy and stay quiet. We traveled on for a few more minutes and when we exited our ship again, things looked similar except that I could hear the people talking in funny voices.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"London, England."

"Why are we here?"

"Follow me."

Father led Mother and me down several streets until we arrived at a small house that was just feet away from the crowded street. I did not think I liked it here. It was too noisy; a stark contrast to the peaceful Gallifrey I had left just moments before. Father knocked and we were invited in. The parents seemed very nice, but in the corner, an older boy sulked, an annoyed look on his face.

Father repeated the information he had given to the previous family and they said they would take me in.

"But I don't want to go!" I shouted. "I can fight the Daleks just like you!"

"Listen to me," Mother said, kneeling down to my level. "You will be very happy here if you try. One day we will come back for you when the war is over. I promise."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. It's just a matter of time."

"Okay," I sniffled.

"Goodbye," she said. "Goodbye my beautiful Sherlock Holmes."

Now I am fifteen and my parents have never come back for me. When I hear that my father is in town, when I see his blue box, I am tempted to run up to him and tell him I am the son he abandoned all those years ago. But I never do. We each lead our separate lives now and it would not be logical to change that.

But the worst part is that I have never seen or spoken to my brother since that terrible day in Kansas when I had to say goodbye forever. But I am content with my life the way it is for the most part and if I could steal my father's TARDIS and change it, I'm not sure I would. There's no sense on dwelling on the past when there's so much to see and do in the present. Maybe I will see my parents and brother again. Even if I don't, they will forever be in the recesses of my mind palace, to see and hold on the lonely days.


	2. Chapter 1

Sam's POV

Another job. Another dirty motel room. Another night alone with Dean as Dad hunted some vile creature. I had lived this way for nine years and I desperately wanted to leave this life. Dean might be cut out for this life but I wasn't. I just wanted to be normal, to have friends, to stay in a school for more than just a couple weeks. I didn't belong in this family anyway. There weren't many pictures from before Mom died, but there didn't seem to be any of when I first born. I had tried to ask Dad about it but he only got mad and I didn't press the subject. I would be stuck in this life for who knew how long and no matter how much I disliked it, I needed to keep in Dad's good graces.

That night after Dean and I had eaten our crappy dinner, I settled into bed while he watched Batman reruns. I eventually fell asleep after staring at the ceiling for a couple hours. Dad had already been at this job for a week and I knew that we would be moving on soon. And I would go with him, like I always did. Maybe one day I would find some nice people and wouldn't move on to the next hunt. I knew Dean would be the only one who would miss me. Although it would be hard to be away from him, if it got me away from this life, then I would take it.

 _EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!_

 _The Daleks flew onto Gallifrey, their lasers flashing. I had never seen a Dalek before but I had heard Mommy and Daddy talking about them. People screamed and tried to run away from the machines, some lucky but others not. I was fascinated by what they could do but my parents had other ideas. I was scooped up and bounced along as we fled from our house. What was going on? Why were we leaving all the excitement?_

 _We ran until we arrived at a large white ship and entered it. I heard the engines taking off and could see my surroundings changing. We were going somewhere, but where? Mommy gripped me tight, talked softly to me, rubbed my head. I could see the fear in her eyes but her voice told me to trust her and I did._

 _Soon the engines stopped and my family and I piled out and into the bright sunlight. I blinked and after my eyes had adjusted, took in my new surroundings. Cars zoomed past and people briskly walked down the street. I knew this wasn't Gallifrey, so where were we?_

 _Before my questions could be answered, we were walking down the street and soon arrived at a white house. Daddy knocked on the door and we entered. After my parents talked to the other adults for a few minutes, I was handed over to the lady. She was a very pretty lady and I cooed. But then my family started to leave. Without me. What was going on? Why weren't they taking me with them? What about the Daleks? Although this lady was pretty, I didn't want to stay with her. But my family had already walked out the door and I was left alone here._

 _"Hello, my little Sammy," the woman said._

"Sammy. Sammy wake up."

My eyes flew open to find Dean standing over me. "Wh-what's going on?" I asked. "Are we leaving?"

"No, you were having a nightmare."

"Oh." The images of the Daleks, the ship, and the pretty lady who looked a lot like Mom came flooding back. What did it all mean? Out of all the monsters I had come across, Daleks were not among them. And was it true that I had been adopted? Thrust into Mom's hands and left there? Who was my other family?

"Are you okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "Just a bad dream."

"Okay, little brother. Sleep well."

I nodded and lay back down. My dream frightened me, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it. If I told Dad he would just yell at me. If I told Dean, he would just think I was a freak. I would have to keep this information to myself and deal with it. Surely one of these days I would find evidence of who my family was and I could be reunited with them. They might not be much better than this one, but I owed it to myself, and to them, to find them. And who knew, maybe I would able to leave this life and be a normal person.

Sherlock's POV

Not a day went by that I didn't think about my brother. My real brother. Not the excuse of one that lived down the hall from me. Sam was kind and loving. Mycroft was arrogant and mean. And now that he had just gotten a job with the government, those qualities had escalated.

Nine years had passed since I saw him and I still missed him. But with each day, I forgot little things about him. His hair color, his eye color, his smile, his laugh. No matter how hard I tried to access those memories in my mind palace, I never could. Maybe I had been too young when we were separated to truly remember anything about him. All I knew was that I missed him and I wanted him back. I had tried to research him, even hacked into Mycroft's government computer, but I couldn't find much on the Winchesters. I did find a newspaper article that said that the mom had died in a house fire shortly after Sam went to live with them. After that, the family had fallen off the grid. But I wouldn't stop searching for my little brother. It was my job to protect him. And I would always do that, no matter distance separated us.

That night, after playing a rousing game of chess with Mycroft, and losing, I went to bed, thinking of new strategies to help me beat him. I fell asleep with chess pieces flying across my mind, anxious to capture the king.

 _"Spread the salt over the door and windows," a deep voice said. "Your brother and I will be back soon."_

 _"I know, Dad. I've done this a million times." This voice belonged to a younger man, around nine years old._

 _The previous speaker stayed behind as two men, an older man and someone who looked like his son, walked out the door. They younger boy spread salt over the doors and windows as commanded then sat in a chair in front of the telly, chin resting in his hand._

 _"Stay at home, Sammy," he muttered. "You'll be safe there. Yeah, right."_

 _The boy stayed there for the rest of the night, bored out of his mind and wishing he was anywhere but there. A few hours later, he heard a noise outside and grabbed the shotgun sitting in the corner. It was probably just Dad and Dean, but Dad would be mad if Sam wasn't prepared in case it was supernatural activity._

 _Sam positioned himself at the door, shotgun ready. The door creaked open and sure enough, Dad and Dean walked in, bloody and bruised, but alive. They walked past Sam, too tired to say anything. Sam put the shotgun back in its place and went to his bed in the motel room. He knew not to start a conversation with them after a hunt. He would only get yelled and snapped at and he didn't want that. Not again._

I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard. Could that little kid possibly be my brother? The age was right, but what was he doing in a dirty motel room all by himself while his family did who knew what? That was no life for him. What were those Winchesters thinking, putting his little brother in danger like that? Our real parents had hoped that Sam would be saved from danger, not put him right back into it. I had a mind to go to Lawrence, Kansas, or wherever they may be, and take Sam back from them. Or tell Father what was happening to Sam when I saw his blue box again. But I wouldn't. No matter what happened to Sam, Father would want him to stay with the Winchesters. That was his life now and I couldn't stop it. But that didn't mean I couldn't disagree with it. I wish I could save him from that life, but I had my own responsibilities here and no matter how much I tried to escape them, this was my life now and I had to live with it. We were each cursed to live lives we didn't belong in. And we would be until the end of time.


	3. Chapter 2

Sam's POV

Over the years, I ignored my suspicions that I belonged to a different family. It would do no good to bring it up. This was my family now and there was nothing I could do about it. Not that I wanted to; I had lived with them for thirty years and no matter how bad it got, I wasn't going to give up on them. That other family had abandoned me, for whatever reason. They might have thought they were doing the right thing, but if I had learned anything from this life, I knew that family didn't give up on each other.

Dean and I were working a case in Colorado when I received a mysterious call.

"Hello," I said. "Who is this?"

"Is this Sam Winchester?" the caller asked. His voice was deep and British.

"Who's asking?"

"My name is Sherlock Holmes," he said. "I'm your brother."

I hung up and set down the phone, my hand shaking. How could that guy be my brother? I'm pretty sure Dad never went to England, much less had a kid. And besides, I didn't need another half-brother; we hadn't taken care of Adam very well. What if…? No, it couldn't be. That couldn't be my brother from the family in my dream. That family wasn't real and there was no sense in telling myself that it was. The caller was just a lunatic. Nothing more, nothing less.

Later that night, my phone rang again: unknown. I answered it and heard the same voice as from earlier.

"What do you want?" I asked. "I have no business with you."

"Hear me out," the British guy said. "I am your brother. Really. We were separated shortly after you were born. We're from the planet Gallifrey."

"I don't know who you are," I whispered. "But stay out of my life."

"I told you. My name is Sherlock Holmes. Please, will you just give me a chance?"

"A chance for what?"

"To prove to you that I really am your brother."

"I have a brother and it certainly isn't you. If you don't leave me alone, I'll hunt you down." I hung up before he could say anything else. I didn't want anything to do with him. What if he really was my brother, the one from my dream all those years ago? But if he was, why hadn't he contacted me until now? I needed to forget about him; Dean was my brother, not this creepy British guy. Besides, I didn't like British guys anyway.

Sherlock's POV

I had called Sam Winchester twice already and hadn't gotten anywhere. How could I convince him that I was actually his brother? It had taken me thirty years to find him, and now that I had, he wanted nothing to do with me. But I wasn't going to give up on him so easily. I would have to travel to America and convince him that way.

Three days later, I landed down in Colorado. I had traced the call I had made to him and was able to know where he was. Hopefully I would be able to convince him that I really was his brother. After finally finding him, I wasn't going to let him slip through my fingers so quickly.

I could tell from our conversations on the phone that he was happy with his life and his own family. What if he had no desire to have a relationship with me? I had been out of his life for so long; what were my expectations? Did I just expect him to forsake the family he had known for so long and accept someone he didn't even know as his brother? I didn't think I would be able to do the same thing, so why was I expecting him to do the same? I would just have to see what he had to say.

I located the motel room where Sam was staying and knocked on the door. The outside was dirty and old; nothing like what I was used to in London. After a few seconds, the door slowly opened to reveal a tall man with long hair and a gun in his hand.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for Sam Winchester."

A look of recognition came into his eyes. "You're the guy from the phone."

He started to close the door but I pushed it open. "Please, hear me out."

"I told you to leave me alone," he said. "How did you find me?"

"I'm a detective; I know how to find people."

"I don't care who you are. If you don't leave me alone, there'll be hell to pay."

"Please, Sam. All I'm asking for is a few minutes. Just give me that."

I could tell that Sam was trying to decide whether or not he could trust me. For some reason, he let me in. The room looked just as dirty on the inside as it did on the outside. What kind of life was this? This was no way for my brother to live. After seeing this, I was sure Sam would want to leave this life.

There was another man sitting in a chair: presumably Sam's brother. He instantly stood when I entered the room, gun drawn.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I mean no harm," I said, raising my hands. "I just have to talk to Sam and then I'll be on my way."

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

"My name is Sherlock Holmes. I'm Sam's brother."

Gunshot.


	4. Chapter 3

Sam's POV

"What the heck, Dean?" I shouted. "You can't just shoot the man!"

"Watch me. He can't just barge in here, making some outrageous claim that he's your brother."

"Just give me a chance," Sherlock said, grasping his shoulder. "I'll tell you what I have to say then I'll leave. I promise."

"Fine," Dean said and pointed to a chair with his gun. "Talk."

Sherlock took a seat and began to tell his story. What he described sounded a lot like my dream from all those years ago. Could this guy really be telling the truth?

"Well that sounds like a lot of crap," Dean said once Sherlock finished talking. "So you left Gallifrey to escape a Time War with the Daleks? I've heard a lot of crazy things, but I think that has to be the craziest."

"It's all true," he said.

"What do you think of all this, Sam?" Dean asked.

What did I think? Before, I thought this guy was a total joke, but now I wasn't so sure. How could he know my exact dream from so long ago? "I-I think he's telling the truth."

"What?" Dean said. "You believe him?"

I explained about my dream and how it fit perfectly with Sherlock's tale.

"So you're saying that Dad lied to me all those years about you being my brother?"

"Dean, I am your brother."

"I protected you all those years and you weren't even my own blood?"

"Dean, stop overreacting," I said.

"Overreacting? I think I have the right to overreact. What do you have to say for yourself?" he asked Sherlock.

"That's it. Now, like I said, I'll leave. I just wanted to see my brother and let him know that I was out there."

Sherlock started to stand up but Dean gave him a look that told him to sit down again. "You don't get to leave that quickly."

"Let him go, Dean," I said. "His business is finished here."

Dean stared at him for a few moments then told him to leave. "And don't you ever come back. You hear?"

Sherlock stood up, straightened his scarf, and walked towards the door. "It was good to see you again, Sam. I hope you have a great life."

He walked out, his coat billowing behind him.

"What was all that?" I asked Dean.

"Excuse me?"

"He was just trying to be nice. I'm sure you would have acted the same way if you hadn't seen your brother in the last thirty years. Cut him some slack."

"Oh yeah. Because he can just waltz in here with that outrageous claim and I'm supposed to act like nothing's wrong."

"Is there something else going on here?"

"Like what?"

"Maybe you're upset because I'm not your real brother."

"C'mon, Sam."

"No, I understand," I said. "It's a shock to learn to realize you've been told a lie your whole life. I was shocked too."

"What? And now you're suddenly okay with it?"

"Listen, you will always be my brother, no matter what Sherlock says. He may be my biological brother, but you're my blood. Don't we always say that family doesn't stop with blood?"  
"I don't know, Sammy. I guess I'm just jealous that this guy gets to claim you as his own. I always took pride in being able to call you my kid brother."

"And you always will. I'm not going anywhere."

"Well that's a relief. I was afraid you were going to run off to England and be some detective."

"C'mon, Dean. I'm not that crazy."

Sherlock's POV

My visit didn't go quite as I had planned. Honestly, I didn't know what was going to happen and I shouldn't have expected Sam to leave the life he had known his whole life. Even if he did live in some dingy, dirty motel room.

While I was sitting in the airport, waiting for my plane to arrive, my phone rang and the display read Sam.

"Hello," I said.

"Hi, Sherlock," he said. "I just wanted to thank you for stopping by."

"You're welcome. Like I said, I wanted to see you again and let you know that I was out there."

"I appreciate that. But you know I could never live with you."

"I know. I just needed to see my brother after all this time."

"It's good to know that no matter where I go, I always have family," Sam said.

"Me too. Take care, Sam."

"You too."

The line went dead and I laid my phone down, placing my hands under my chin. Although my time here had not gone exactly as I had planned, I had achieved my mission. I had seen my brother and knew that he was doing okay. I was glad that Dean was such a good brother to him and would do anything to protect him. It was what I always wanted to do but never could. Now that I knew he was in good hands, I could let go of the lifelong fear I had: that he wouldn't be loved and cared for.

Some days it had felt like I would never find Sam and I had started to give up. But it had only been a matter of time until I did find him and I was grateful that I had. Now I could go on, knowing that my brother would be okay. That's all I could ever ask for.


End file.
